The present invention relates to a tray loading device of a CD player having a magazine which stores a plurality of trays each of which holds a compact disc (CD).
Recently, a CD player having a magazine has been provided for continuously reproducing a plurality of CDs.
In a car CD player, a tray loading device is designed so as to be vertically moved along the magazine for loading a selected tray in the magazine. The tray is drawn by the device from the magazine in the horizontal direction to feed the CD on the tray to a playback position.
FIG. 5 shows a conventional tray loading device comprising an arm rotating mechanism. The device comprises a gear 7 rotated by a motor (not shown), an arm 6 coaxially mounted on the gear 7 and having a fork 5 provided on an end thereof. A tray loading guide 3 is engaged with a notch 2 of a tray 1 and slidably mounted on a guide rail 4 at a lower portion thereof. The fork 5 of the arm 6 is slidably engaged with a projection 3a of the guide 3.
In operation, when the arm 6 is pivoted, the guide 3 is moved on the rail 4 through the fork 5 engaged with the projection 3a. Since the guide 3 is engaged with an inner wall of the notch 2, the tray 1 is drawn from the magazine or returned to the magazine.
However, in the device, the arm 6 having a long length is laterally disposed adjacent to the side of the magazine with a large space. Accordingly, the CD player can not be reduced in size.
On the other hand, when the tray to be reproduced is changed, the loading device is vertically moved along the trays in the magazine to a desired tray. When the device is vertically moved, if the guide 3 is engaged with the notch 2 Of the tray 1, the guide may be caught by the edge of the notch. If the guide engages with the wall of the notch, the loading device may not be vertically moved. Therefore, it is necessary to disengage the guide 3 from the notch 2. In the conventional device, after the tray 1 is returned to the magazine, the gear 7 is rotated in the reverse direction by the motor so as to disengage the guide 3 from the notch 2.
Such a reverse operation of the gear complicates the control of the device.